Sunday, March 30, 2008

Looks like the Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans I came to know and love this Easter will be sticking around all year as Giant Chewy Nerds! I saw them in individual packages at The Candy Store in Wyandotte, MI today. I know a lot of people loved this product. This is great news!

They are also for sale online, in case you want a whole box:http://www.candyfavorites.com/Giant-Chewy-Nerds-pr-3375.html

Thursday, March 27, 2008

According to the M&M's website, the limited edition Wildly Cherry M&M's were introduced back in February, however I just stumbled upon them last week on a trip to my local dollar store. The release of the flavored M&M seems to be trend from the company. I recall seeing a raspberry flavored M&M on the shelves not too long ago called "Razzberry", but never picked it up. I'm usually not a big fan of fruit and chocolate combinations, except when it comes to cherry. I've been known to enjoy a few Cella's chocolate covered cherries in my day, but even when it comes to chocolate covered cherries, I prefer the clear liquid center of a Cella's over those with white, gooey fondant.

The taste of the Wildly Cherry M&M's is very reminiscent of a Cella's. I couldn't tell if it was the candy shell or the chocolate which held the cherry flavor, but it's definitely in there. Cherry flavor exploded in my mouth as soon as I crunched down on the candy. The chocolate tasted a little darker than in a plain M&M, but it compliments the cherry flavor well. Plump all around, the individual candies are larger in size than regular M&M's. They are about the size of the Peanut Butter M&M's, and come in two cherry-inspired colors - bright red and dark red.

I don't know if these candies ended up in the dollar store because they are past their prime (in a marketing sense, not freshness), or because they didn't have a wide release. Sometimes I find interesting things at the dollar store, like a giant box of the newly re-released Good N' Fruity, which I may talk some more about later. Nevertheless, I'll be looking to see if the Wildly Cherry M&M's make it into more mainstream stores in my area.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Every once in a while a new candy comes along that I am a little skeptical about. At first thought, the concept may seem downright strange, or the flavor combination a little far fetched. When I first saw this carton of Reese's Peanut Butter Whoppers, I harbored low expectations. Sure, I like Whoppers, and of course I love peanut butter, but I didn't think they would play together well. I'll be the first to admit I was wrong on this one.

Instead of chocolate, the malted milk ball of the classic Whopper is coated with a layer of Reese's peanut butter. The peanut butter is smooth and kinda waxy, but I like it. It's very similar to the peanut butter found in Reese's Pieces rather than that in a Peanut Butter Cup. The combination of malt and nutty peanut butter is a quite tasty. Overall, I am a fan and would definitely by these again. Sometimes it's nice to be proven wrong.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

One of the 1980's candies I long for from my childhood are Wonka Dinasour Eggs. I can picture the small, cellophane package containing two glossy, smooth, egg-shaped jawbreakers like it was yesterday. Dinasour Eggs came in great colors too like lime green, turquoise, and lemony yellow. I've searched Wonka and other sites online trying to find some word of their fate, a picture, obituary - anything! I repeatedly came up empty and was beginning to think I imagined them until I found the above photo on grickily's Flickr page, finally proving that indeed they did exist.

While my beloved Dinasour Eggs may long be extinct, I have found a worthy replacement, and it just happens to be an Easter candy. Same company, same taste, just smaller in size, Wonka Everlasting Gobstopper Egg Breakers are the next best thing to Dinasour Eggs. Egg Breakers are miniature versions of Wonka's Gobstoppers with the holiday enhancements of pastel colors and being egg-shaped rather than round. Like Gobstoppers, they share the promise of changing colors and flavors as you suck on them. And while they may not last forever, I am quite happy when I reach the tart, condensed sugar core.

In case you've ever wondered where the word "gobstopper" comes from, just look to those crazy Brits. "Gob" is British slang for "mouth". When you think about it, "mouth stopper" is pretty much the same idea as "jawbreaker" in the US. Wonka's gobstoppers are named after the Everlasting Gobstoppers which appeared in the Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Roald Dahl was from Wales, hence the use of the word "gobstopper" to describe a jawbreaker.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Many traditionally "Easter" candies are now available year round. Peeps chicks and bunnies morph into snowmen and pumpkins to make an appearance at Christmas and Halloween. You can buy Jelly Belly jelly beans in August, and now even Cadbury Creme Eggs are available at Christmas. So far, the one Easter treat that has maintained its springtime exclusivity is the Cadbury Mini Egg.

Mini Eggs are a special treat. Their matte, pastel shells lightly freckled with brown dots resembling a robin's egg, seem very sophisticated to me. The combination bite of the crisp, sugary shell with the salty, cocoa-y chocolate does not disappoint either. The creaminess of the Cadbury chocolate seems to coat the whole mouth with goodness, while the sugar shell lasts just long enough to provide a nice bit of crunchiness. Mini Eggs are available in many size packages, but I usually prefer them one small, 50 cent package at a time. I guess it's just a personal preference, I'm sure the large bags taste just as great, but somehow if I have the small package I appreciate eat piece a little more. Plus, when I open the tiny bags they smell just like a package of Swiss Miss hot chocolate - yum!

Cadbury has added the Royal Dark Mini Eggs to their list of offerings. CandyBlog wrote about them last year, but I did not stumble upon them until a recent trip to Kroger. I'm not a huge dark chocolate fan, but curiosity fueled by Mini Egg love got the best of me. The Royal Dark Mini Eggs have darker sugar shells than the traditional Eggs, however they maintain the same matte finish and texture. The combination of the dark chocolate and sugar shell reminded me of nonpareils, in fact I thought they tasted exactly like Sno-Caps. I like Sno-Caps, but I think as an Easter treat I prefer the regular milk chocolate Mini Eggs.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Monday's mail brought me this awesome gift package of international candy. My friend Susie went snowshoeing in France and Switzerland a few months ago and sent me this box of treats she bought for me while on her travels. I've already devoured the Lion bar which I found mighty tasty. It consisted of a cream filled wafer (think those pink and yellow sugar wafer cookies), covered by caramel and krispies - all coated in chocolate. Very big bite, almost a meal in itself.

I'm was so excited to get the Haribo strawberry candies. I used to get candies similar to these when my family would go over to Windsor, Ontario when I was younger. I also picked some up in Germany last summer. As far as I know they are not sold in the USA, which is disappointing. More on their awesomeness, and the other Haribo treats, in another post. Stay tuned...